Supporter garment



July -22, 1947. R. M. HOEY SUPPORTER GARMENT Filed Sept 21, 1946 Fig.1

. INVENTOR BY 52 M14 ATTORNEY Patented July 22, 1947 Raymond M. Hoey, ChicagbQIlL,assignor' to The Kendall Company, Boston, Mass, a corporation of Massachusetts Application September 21, 1945; Serial No. 698,456 7 1 This invention relates to improved garments of the type comprising a pouch for retaining the genitals, elastic leg strap for maintaining the pouch in position and means for supporting the pouch and leg straps. Specifically, this invention has for its object the provision of improved garments of the athletic supporter type as distinguished from the suspensory type. The athletic supporter type of garment is illustrated and described in U. S. Patent #2,301,066, issued November 3, 1942, to Montmarquet. The suspensory type of garment is illustrated in U. S. Patent #722,121, issued to Lupfer, March 3, 1903. At the present time garments of the two distinct types are in commerce although the specific garment illustrated in Lupfers patent is believed not available. At any rate the two types are recognized in the trade and sold as different items, athletic supporters being sold by sporting goods retailers, suspensories being sold usually only by drug S-tOIBSf Both types of garments have pouches, leg straps and waist bands but differ widely in regard to functions, purposes, construction, materials, and appearance. Even where individual parts of suspensories have a superficial similarity to parts of athletic supporters, they usually are not interchangeable. For instance, the leg straps or cords which are illustrated in the Lupfer patent mentioned above are deceivingly similar in outward appearance to the leg cords which are utilized in the products of this invention but the cords could not be substituted one for the other because their characteristics are different as will be fully explained hereinafter. The characteristics of the leg straps for a genital supporting garment are determined largely by the functions which the garment is designed to have.

Athletic supporters have the function of holding the male genitals in an unnatural protective position adjacent to and snugly contacting the lower abdomen. In order that this function may be comfortably operative, whether the wearer is at rest or engaged in violent physical action, it is necessary that certain maximum and minimum elastic tensions exist in the pouch and. in the leg straps, particularly in the latter. The tension is quite critical in the leg straps, too little tension resulting in loss of supporter function and too much tension resulting in excessive binding, frictional irritation and burns of the skin. Inasmuch as athletic supporter leg straps have no other adjustment than the elasticity of the fabric of which they are made, it is important that the fabric have proper stretch characteristics. I have found that most satisfactory results are obtained when the leg straps are capable of being elongated, by the forces normally encountered in wear, a maximum of from 110 to 180%. More exactly a ten inch test length should, when subjected to the force of gravity on a weight of 2 Claims. (Cl. 128 -160) from 55to 80 ounces, extend to a maximum length of 21 to 28 inches. Furthermore, the maximum lengthshould preferably not persist, due to hysteresis effect as weights are removed, beyond the-f point where ounces remain suspended by the test length, In general the extendedlength should begin to decrease materially with from to 25 ounces of weight remaining-on the test length. f

The purpose and function of suspensoriesare entirely different from those of athletic supporters. These devices are intended to alleviate a distressed condition. They are frequently used where the gonads are swollen and tender althoughthey are also used where the scrotum is extremely elongated either as an after effect of disease or naturally as is characteristic of certainraces. suspensories are intended to permit persons with the above mentioned conditions and others to suspend the gonads in a comfortable position similar to the normal positionthey occupy in most males. It is axiomatic that such devices have very little tension in the leg straps, natural non-binding cradling support being the desired objective. The leg straps of such devices 7 are usually narrow because they are not designed to withstand heavy stresses. Usually they are mechanically adjustable and very frequently are not elastic. Those suspensories which do have elastic leg straps in general have straps which are capable of being extended a maximum of to 80% although the forces normally encountered in usual wear are insuflicient to provide maximum extension. A ten inch test length of the average suspensory le strap material when subjected to the force of gravity on a weight of from to ounces will extend to a maximum length of from 15 to 18 inches. The hysteresis effect on such material is marked, material reduction in length upon successive removal of weights not occurring until only 17 to 12 ounces remain suspended by the test. It is evident from the above that leg straps of suspensories are not interchangeable with leg straps of athletic supporters because of insulficient elongation and lack of tension in the former. Previous to this invention it was considered essential to the attainment of the desired stretch characteristics in athletic supporters that relatively wide, loosely-woven leg straps be provided in contrast to the comparatively narrow, fairly tightlywoven type of strap provided in suspensories. But the type of leg straps utilized in athletic supporters hitherto has certain disadvantages enumerated hereinafter which I have found are largely incidental to their width and which are substantially eliminated by the le straps of the products of this invention.

Le traps of supporters must ofnecessity be highly conformable in that they must conform to the three dimensional curves of the lower body trunk. But good conformability has not always been possible with wide leg straps because of the difference in length of the edges of the strap necessary to completely conform. With wide straps one edge of the strap may be in a stretched condition while the other is. so slack as to wrinkle and curl out of snug contact with the body. Nor are such straps ideally suited to bear the severe stresses to which leg straps of athletic supporters are normally subjected because stresses are not properly equalized throughout the width of the strap. Some elastic threads, particularly at the side edges, bear a far heavier load than others, so that frequently side threads break, causin unsightly crimping and crinkling of s the 'fabric 'and impaired functionality in the supporter. The higher stresses to which these leg straps are subjected are intensified by the fact that the straps are securely fastened to the bottom of the pouch so that the part so fastened is held in restricted relationship with respect to the body when stresses are encountered. The phrase in restricted rela- -tionshipis used-advisedly because undoubtedly ithe pouch itself stretches and in addition is pulledtoward the leg :strap under H tension. 7 In .-actual use, therefore, the'pouch bottomon the presentiyknown type of athletic supporter is p led-from sideto side on the body as the stress becemes greater onfirst one leg strap and then rtheother. -'I?h is 1novement of the pouch, which is insuflicient to ;relieve the higher stresses, tense :d cqm r i to t a e a d n e d tion, pauses-the lower edges; of the pouch to roll -an r ;My invention= provides for the first time a p uh1andlea.s re whi rm a e --pletegarment suitable -for athletic wear, which --p arts do ;not have the disadvantages hitherto encountered. -The objectionabie features have been overcerne by providing a new type of leg J strap inthe; form pf a cord 7 with. the requisite ;st1 etch 'characteristics -f or athletic supporter straps. I;have;- discovered thata-cord substantiallyieircular in cross section will provide a more conformable strapandpne in which aqnore even distribution of stresses in use occurs. In such tame, the elastic threads areconcentrated so that they-actrnore or less as a unit, each ofthe elastiet hr eads bearing atmore nearly equal share ,of l the total load-with no individual thread so heavily burdened-as to break during normal use. Furthermore. such cordsneed not be relatively :fixedto thepouch-bo'ttom. I have found that asslip loop maybe providedatthepouch bottom [through which the cord-is threadedand that evenj under i considerable stresses .the. cord will readily render through the slip loop. This construtibn, .although it. otherwise would ,be dis- Qtinctly .advantageous,..is. not practical with .wide ribbon-likestraps because such strapsfold over .andbunch at the slip loop. This-invention pro- ,vides thefirst athletic supporter havingslip loop construction, "permitting both vleg straps to be parts. of ,a -continuous.elastic cord, the stresses onlivhich are fairly -equalized throughout the corddength'.

. Referring to the drawings ,Figure 1 is -a-front view of a preferred form of theinventionas embodied in an athletic supporter. Figure 2 is a, perspective detail of the lower ;portion ofthe pouch of Figure-1 with-the attached sliploop; and ,a; portion ofthe leg cord.

Figure 3 is a cross section of the preferred leg cord of Figure 1 showing its constructions.

In Figure 1, i0 is an elastic waist band supporting the formed supporter pouch H and the elastic leg cord l2. At the bottom portion of pouch H is fastened, by stitching IS, a tape lvention. limited to the particular construction of the slip loop or of the cord illustrated as preferred. Other constructions which utilize cords iormedinto a slip loop 14. Elastic leg cord I2 which is threaded through slip loop [4 and is free to move in reciprocating motion therethrough, is fastened at its ends by stitching [5 to waistband III.

In Figure 3 preferred leg cord I2 is shown in cross section to be formed of a plurality of individual rubber threads 16 united by a figure 8 inner thread covering H and surrounded by an outer braided thread covering l8.

-while-the preferred type of garmentiwhich is embraced by this invention is that illustrated in the drawings, this invention is in no way limited to that particular embodiment. Nor is the insubstantially circular in cross sectionhaving the proper stretch characteristics either alone. or in conjunction with various types of slip loops are within the. scope of the invention.

Iclaim:

1. A compressive athleticsupporter-comprising an elastic waistband, an elastic pouch a-fiizied along its upper portion to the front of said waistband and two segments of longitudinall extensible and elastic cord, constituted of a series of compact longitudinally extending elastic threads, permanently, and nondetachably conmeeting the bottom portion ofvsaid pouchitonthe waistband and forming elastic leg straps for the supporter, said cord being substantially only as .wide .as it is thick so that the elastic threads of said cord bear substantially equal proportions of loads placed on said cord anda ten inch length thereof being extensibleto fromtwenty-one to twenty-eightinches when subjected to thepull offifty-five to eighty, ounces of weight.

2. A compressive athletic supporter comprising an elastic waistband; an elastic pouch affixed along its upper portion to the front of said waistband, a slip loop attached to-the bottom-0f said pouch and a longitudinallyextensible and elastic cord, constituted ofa series of compact longitudinally extending elastic threads, threaded through said slip loop and free tomove in restricted reciprocating motion therethrough, permanently and non-detachably connecting the bottom. portion ofsaidpouch to the waistband and forming elastic leg straps for the supporter, said cord being substantially only as wide as it is thick so that the elastic threads of said cord bear substantially equal propo-rtionsof loads placed on said cord and a ten inch length thereof being extensible to from twenty-one to twenty-eight inches when subjected to the pull of fifty-five to eighty ounces of weight.

.RAYMOND M. HOEY.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 436,518 Dent Sept. 16, 1890 826,815 Wertz July-'24, 1906 1;347,864 Marker July'2 7; 1920 1 821962 'Callaway Sept. 8, 1931 

